Fixing gun using cartridge for driving nails, pins and the like into hard compact materials



Jan. 29, 1963 c. E. ROSSELET 3,075,195

. FIXING GUN USING CARTRIDGE FOR DRIVING NAILS, PINS AND THE LIKE INTO HARD COMPACT MATERIALS Filed Aug. 5, 1960 Il lL CLAUDE ADOSSELET 6%,

United States Patent 'C) FIXING GUN USING CARTRIDGE FOR DRIVING NAILS, PINS AND THE LIKE INTO HARD COM- PACT MATERIALS Claude E. Rosselet, Fouuex, near Nyon, Switzerland, assignor to Sarmi S.A., Societe dApplications de Recherches Minieres et Iudustrielles, Lenzerheide, Grisons, Switzerland, a company of Switzerland Filed Aug. 3, 1960, Ser. No. 47,251 Claims priority, application Switzerland Apr. 7, 1960 2 Claims. (Cl. 1-44.5)

The present invention relates to fixing guns using cartridges, that is, to apparatus for driving, under the effect of an explosive charge, nails, pins and the like, into hard compact materials such as for example wood, cement or concrete.

When these apparatus are used for driving nails, pins or similar fixing devices into concrete or like material, it is essential to use stop washers which limit, by their braking action, the penetration of said nails and thus regularise the depth of penetration of said nails or the like.

These stop washers are maintained at the outlet end of the barrel of the gun, either in a counterbore formed in the end of said barrel or in a washer carrier which is detachable or otherwise but rigidly fixed to the barrel (for example it is screwed or pinned in position).

Experience has shown that there generally occurs a rather great deterioration in the form of a crater around, the point of impact and penetration of the nail or pin, which deterioration is only partly masked by the stop washer. In the case of guns having a barrel which is movable relative to a barrel carrying block in which is formed the loading chamber communicating with the rear end of said barrel, it appears that the deterioration of the material into which the pin is driven is due to the violent blow it receives, when firing, from the forward end of the barrel of the gun (and the elements associated therewith) which is pressed heavily against said material.

Corresponding to this violent blow against the material, there is also a reaction in the opposite direction, namely the recoil, of the gun, perceived by the operator.

There is also observed a similar deterioration of the material when guns having a barrel which is fixed relative to the barrel carrying block are used for driving in the nail or pin.

The object of the present invention is to obviate the two aforementioned drawbacks, that is, to avoid the deterioration of the zone of impact of the pin in the material and to attenuate the recoil of the gun, by the utilization of the part of the gases escaping through holes or vents generally provided in the forward part of the barrel of the gun, which vents permit notably decreasing the noise of the explosion in that the gases which escape therethrough are received in a closed chamber where they expand before being discharged to the atmosphere.

According to the invention, the washer carrier is not rigid with the barrel of the gun but slidably mounted thereon and the arrangement is such that it acts like a piston which, upon firing the gun, is urged forwardly and heavily applied against the wall receiving the pin by the gases escaping through the vents of the barrel.

Experience has shown that with such an arrangement of the washer carrier, there is no longer any deterioration of walls of, for example, cement or concrete at the points of impact and penetration of the nails, pins or the like driven in by a fixing gun. Further, the recoil is considerably lessened.

The invention can be embodied in different ways and is characterised by the following features, among others, and combinations of these features:

Abutment means can limit the forward travel of the washer carrier;

The washer carrier can be connected to a holding sleev which is slidable in a fluid-tight manner on a tube connected to a barrel carrying block and surrounding the 'vented part of the barrel, so as to form an annular chamber;

Elastic means bearing against an element of the gun can be provided to urge the washer carrier forwardly;

The elastic means can comprise a helical spring surrounding the tube of the barrel supporting block and elastically bearing against the holding sleeve;

in the case of a gun having a splinter guard connected to a fixing sleeve, which is slidable or not, on the tube connected to the barrel carrying block, the spring can be disposed in a chamber in said sleeve and the end of the spring opposed to that at which the washer carrier is located can bear against the end of said chamber;

In a modification, the slidable washer carrier can be mounted on the forward end of the barrel of the gun and held there by a ball disposed in a radial hole in the washer carrier and partially extending into a longitudinal groove in the barrel.

Two embodiments of guns improved in accordance with the invention have been shown in the accompanying drawpart of an unloaded gun;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the washercarrier placed on the end of the barrel of the gun shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1, the gun being in its loaded position, and

FIG. 4 is a partial axial sectional view of the forward part of another type of gun in its loaded position.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the reference numeral 1 designates the forward part of the barrel, with escape vents 2, of a fixing gun of the type having a barrel which is movable relative to a barrel carrying block 3 which supports the barrel and terminates at its forward end in a tube 4. Between the barrel 1 and the tube 4 is formed a chamber 20.

The sleeve 5 of a splinter guard 6 is slidably mounted on the tube 4.

According to the invention, the washer carrier 7 is slidably mounted on the forward end of the barrel 1 which terminates in a flange or end piece 1a acting as an abutment for the washer carrier. The latter is advantageously rigid with a guide sleeve 8 slidable in the annular space 21 provided between the tube 4 and the sleeve 5 of the splinter guard 6.

In the position of rest (FIG. 1), the washer carrier 7 and its sleeve 8 are urged forwardly by a helical spring 9 disposed in the annular space 21 between the elements 4 and 5, this spring bearing against a shoulder of the sleeve 8 and an annular abutment formed by the rear end of the sleeve 5. The forward end of the barrel is a certain distance from the wall, represented by the line X--Y, into which a pin is to be driven.

In the loaded position (FIG. 3), the barrel 1, which is urged with the whole of the apparatus in the direction of arrow F (by the thrust the operator exerts on the whole of the gun in the direction of the wall XY for imperative reasons of safety), has a tendency to move into the washer carrier 7 and compress the spring 9 which strongly applies the washer carrier against the wall X-Y.

When firing the gun, the barrel 1 still has a tendency to move toward the wall X--Y, but the gases which escape from the vents 2 and enter the chamber 20 exert, on the one hand, a pressure in the direction of arrow f1 on the washer carrier 7 which acts as a piston thus applied with force against the wall XY and, on the other hand, a pressure in the direction of arrow 32 on the elements of the gun located at the rear of said vents.

There is thereby obtained-both an avoidance of the violence of the impact of the barrel and the associated elements against the material (in fact there is no longer any deterioration of the material at the pointof impact of the pin driven in with interposition of the stop washer) and a reduction inthe violence of the recoil of the gun.

The same advantages are obtained with the type of gun shown in FIG. 4 whose barrel does not slide relative to the barrel carrier. In FIG. 4, the reference numeral 11 designates the barrel with vents 12, and 13 a barrel carrying body and 14 an outer sleeve carrying a splinter guard 15. r

In this modification, the slidable washer carrier 16 comprises a radial recess 22 for a retaining ball 17 which a collar 18 prevents from escaping and which partially extends into an annular groove 19 in the barrel, this groove having a certain length in the axial direction to permit a relative displacement between the barrel and the washer carrier. In the presently-described embodiment, it is the length of the groove 19 which limits the travel of the washer carrier 16.

It is obvious that the embodiments and applications of the improvements of the invention. described and shown in the accompanying drawing have been given merely by way of non-limitative example, and any details thereof canbe modified without departing from the scope of the invention as described in the following claims.

What I claim is: 1

1. Fixing gun comprising: abarrel whose forward part has vents for the escape of gas and which terminates in avflange forming an abutment; a barrel carrying block whose forward end constitutes a tubular member which surrounds, with clearance, the forward part of said barrel so as to'constitute with said part an annular chamber in whose forward end constitutes a tubular member which 2. Fixing gun comprising: a barrel whose forward part has vents for the escape of gas and which terminates in a flange forming an abutment; a barrel carrying block surrounds, with clearance, the forward part of saidbarrel so as to constitute with said part an annular chamber in the region of the vents; a splinter guard carrying sleeve slidably mounted on said tubular member and open at the forward part so as to constitute, with said tubular the region of the vents; a support slidably mounted on v the forward end of the barrel and adapted, on the one member, an annular cavity; a splinter guard fixed to said sleeve; a support slidably mounted on the forward end of the barrel and adapted, on the one hand, to maintain temporarily an object of the type comprising washers which has to be fixed against a wall by a pin to be driven into said wall by said gun, and, on the other hand, to abut, in its advanced position, against the flange of the barrel; a guide sleeve rigid with said support and slidable on the tubular member so as to close the annular chamber;

'and a helical spring disposed in the annular cavity and forwardly urging the guide sleeve with the support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,700,764 Catlin Feb. 1, 1955 2,790,972 Catlin May 7, 1957 2,806,218 Henning et al Sept. 17, 1957 2,863,149 Kopf et al. Dec. 9, 1958 2,945,236 Kopf et a1 July 19, 1960 

1. FIXING GUN COMPRISING: A BARREL WHOSE FORWARD PART HAS VENTS FOR THE ESCAPE OF GAS AND WHICH TERMINATES IN A FLANGE FORMING AN ABUTMENT; A BARREL CARRYING BLOCK WHOSE FORWARD END CONSTITUTES A TUBULAR MEMBER WHICH SURROUNDS, WITH CLEARANCE, THE FORWARD PART OF SAID BARREL SO AS TO CONSTITUTE WITH SAID PART AN ANNULAR CHAMBER IN THE REGION OF THE VENTS; A SUPPORT SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON THE FORWARD END OF THE BARREL AND ADAPTED, ON THE ONE HAND, TO MAINTAIN TEMPORARILY AN OBJECT OF THE TYPE COMPRISING WASHERS WHICH HAS TO BE FIXED AGAINST A WALL BY A PIN TO BE DRIVEN INTO SAID WALL BY SAID GUN, AND, ON THE OTHER HAND, TO ABUT, IN ITS ADVANCED POSITION, AGAINST THE FLANGE OF THE BARREL; A GUIDE SLEEVE RIGID WITH SAID SUPPORT AND SLIDABLE ON THE TUBULAR MEMBER SO AS TO CLOSE THE ANNULAR CHAMBER; AND A HELICAL SPRING DISPOSED AROUND THE TUBULAR MEMBER AND FORWARDLY URGING THE GUIDE SLEEVE WITH THE SUPPORT. 